Take a few deep breaths to center your heart and your mind as you prepare to meet with God.

Meditation on God

1 Chronicles 16:11, the Amplified Version, says, “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually [longing to be in His presence].” God is always with us, but we are not always aware of His presence. Take a moment to focus on being aware of God’s presence with you. Rest and rejoice in His presence.

Teaching

As you continue resting in His presence, open your heart to hear the voice of God speaking to you through this passage.

Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.” Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” (Mark 12:38-44)

What do you value? What is truly most important to you? Today’s passage begins with Jesus pointing out what the religious leaders of His day valued–themselves.

The flowing robes that they wore were to make sure that everyone could see what an important and powerful position they held. The respectful greetings that they loved were not only flattery from those who addressed them, they were also a means of making sure that anyone who did not catch the significance of the robes would hear the titles that people used to address them, and realize what a privilege it was to be in their presence. And the ultimate display of their vanity was that they loved the seats of honor in the synagogues. They didn’t go to the synagogue so they could honor God, they went so that people could honor them.

However, there was one part of their lives that they didn’t make a public spectacle; the part where they cheated the widows out of what little property they had. I wonder if the widow that Jesus commended for giving all she had to live on was down to her last two cents because these religious leaders had taken everything else she had. Regardless of the cause of her poverty, she gave God everything she had. Why? Because God is what she valued.

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” “Heart” is singular because the verse is not addressed to all the people who love God, it’s addressed to you. You–specifically, personally. Truly trusting God means putting your heart–your life, your goals, your problems, your questions–into His hands. It’s not just what you value most, it’s putting everything into His hands. And here’s the important part..also the hard part: you put everything into His hands; then you let go. You give God complete control of everything. Complete. Control. Of.  Everything. Trust isn’t really trust until you’re willing to act on that trust.

Paul writes in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained this, or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus had made me His own.” What could be more valuable than knowing that Christ Jesus has made you His own? The important thing about the widow’s offering was not the amount that she gave. It’s not even the percentage of her finances that she gave. The heart of the matter is, as she put those two small coins into the offering, she was saying to God, “Here’s everything that I have. You’re in control. I trust You.” And God responded through the voice of His Son, “This poor widow has given more than all the others.”

Examination

Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Take a moment and look into your heart. Can you sincerely say that knowing Christ Jesus is the most important thing in your life?

If it’s not, what is sitting in Jesus’ place in the seat of honor in your heart?

Memory Verse

It is in God’s presence that we learn to trust Him. We come to see what a great gift we have in knowing Him, and we learn to hear His voice as He teaches us how He wants us to live. So, as you go through the day, welcome Jesus to the seat of honor by continuing to meditate on 1 Chronicles 16:11. Write it down and put it where you’ll see it over and over, to remind yourself:

“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually [longing to be in His presence].” (1 Chronicles 16:11)